What do Faye Dunaway and the Thessaloniki Film Festival have in common? The belief in independent cinema. The star appears tonight for the screening of her 1970 favorite "Puzzle of a Downfall Child". Some 30 other features, plus the "Midnight Vision" shorts, beckon.

Enigmatic Lady
Dunaway's press conference is at noon today (Warehouse C). Yesterday she warmed up with some local press, looking relaxed and, well, like a real person (apart from the guy fiddling with her hair). She'll never tire of discussing "Bonnie and Clyde", the actress said, adding that "Puzzle of a Downfall Child" (presented at 8pm today) reveals the perils of being in the public eye. A soldier's daughter, she spoke in patriotic terms about the US crisis. Dunaway observed that Americans are "less busy" and "more cautious", but finally displaying "latent love" for each other. Dunaway is looking forward to work on a Maria Callas film based on the play "Master Class". Critical of teen-focused Hollywood, Dunaway prefers independent productions. She has finally caught the directing bug. "I was ready," she says, to direct "Yellow Bird".

"Savoir" Comes First
Yesterday guests flocked to the Provlita and left with stacks of photocopies. The first film (press screenings aside) was jury president John Boorman's 1965 "Catch Us If You Can". Officially events kicked off with the opening ceremony at the Olympion Theater, followed by the characteristically long (154 minutes) and worthwhile "Va Savoir" opener. First day jitters and fatigue were forgotten, thanks to the first party (chez Warehouse C).

Two Covert Journeys
Both Mohsen Makhmalbaf's "Kandahar" and the late John Berry's "Boesman & Lena" feature world-weary travelers. In the first film, which makes its Thessaloniki debut at 8.30pm (at the Olympion's small Pavlos Zannas theater), a woman who fled from Afghanistan after the Taliban took power smuggles herself back into the country to rescue her sister from suicide. Actress Niloufar Pazira will attend the festival. Meanwhile, Berry, who was an American expat in Paris for much of his life, made his last film about the relationship of an aging South African couple. Their troubled relationship simmers as the woman shelters a black man in their camp. The film's cast features Danny Glover and Angela Bassett. It will be presented by Jules Dassin, with the director's son, Arny Berry present, at Warehouse D (aka Cine Frida Liappa).

Peeking at the Competition
Two International Competition films are screening tonight, launching the competitive section of the festival. First, at 3.30pm is Kazim Oz's "The Photograph". This Turkish production is about two men who meet on a long bus ride. One of the men is heading off to do his military service, while the other is heading to the mountains to join the Kurdish rebel forces. When they meet again, the circumstances are less friendly. The second film, screening at 10.30pm is by Christos Dimas. "The Cistern" looks at a group of 11-year-old boys growing up in 1974 Greece. Based on a novel by Dimas, it examines the boys' inauguration into the less-playful world of adults.

Survival Strategies
In Faruk Sokolovic's "Milky Way" (6pm, Cine Tania Marketaki) two couples want out of Bosnia Herzegovina after the war. Normal life strikes them as residing far beyond their country- in New Zealand. The only trouble is that they don't meet the Resettlement Agency's test- because one couple is Muslim, the other Christian. The Agency prefers to send mixed marriage couples away, because they face more discrimination. A swap is in their stars...

Clues to Local Cinema
With three Stavros Tornes and two Dinos Dimopoulos films screening today, a few notes are due about the filmmakers. Born in 1932, Tornes was known for his leftist political beliefs and strong opinions about cinema. After making a documentary in 1967, he spent considerable time in Italy, where he made three short films (including "Adio Anatoli", screening at 11.30am). Returning to Greece in 1981, Tornes made a handful of films that include "Danilo Treles" (3pm, about the wanderings of an English musician and a mythical foxman in the Greek countryside) and "Balamos" (5.30pm, a man enters a metaphysical journey while horse-shopping). By contrast, Dimopoulos' cinema was more mainstream. He made no less than 498 films with predominant film company Finos Films. Many of these still appear daily on Greek television. "Astero", the ultra-dramatic story of a poor servant girl (played by well-loved Aliki Vougouklaki), is a must-see for those trying to catch up on Greek cinema history. It screens at 8pm. His 1978 film "The Sun of Death" plays at 10.30pm.

Hellenic Shadow-Play
One of the great mysteries of local productions is the lack of women in the director's seat. Olga Malea, director of "Risotto" (1.30pm), goes against this rule. Her latest, in a series of well-received films dealing with women in modern Greece, considers what happens when two women leave their men with the domestic duties. Though critiqued for its lightness, it was the only film by a Greek woman in the box office this year. One of six female directors in the festival's 32-film Greek Panorama is newcomer Athena Xenidou. Her "Unwitnessed Memories" is a documentary examining Cyprus' post-war generation. It screens at 5pm. Meanwhile Christos Voupouras' "The Dance of the Horses", showing at 6.30pm, is the story of a boy and his grandmother, which has to do with Greek identity. It links pagan sacrifices and Christianity, exploring Byzantium and the East/West divide. Stavros Vidalis' "Shadow-Play" (1pm) is about a group of Athenians who decide to embody mythical characters, through theater.

Finding the Horizon
US Indies, New French Cinema are among the films on show in today's New Horizons selections: "Acts of Worship" (two women reveal the flip sides of drug addiction,3pm), "Deep Breath" (an alienated French boy in the countryside has his first drink and taste of drama, 5.30pm), "Drift" (a young woman tries to escape her brother's protective love, 6pm),"The Business of Strangers" (Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles are two women united in an airport bar, 8pm), "The Fluffer" (a trio hovers around the gay porn industry,10.30pm) and "And Your Mother Too" (a heated road trip between two 17 year-old boys and an older woman, 11pm).

Dark Labyrinths
At 1am on Saturday night, the first "Midnight Vision: Orgiastic Cinema" begins. It features seven films from the US, UK and Canada, ranging in length from 74 minutes to three minutes. All are "anti-cinema" expressions selected by Greek expat, director and Cinematexas founder, Athina Tsangari.

Secret Stills
Bronx-born Jerry Schatzberg's camera has captured faces and places for decades. His eye for arresting images -be it fashion snapshots, posed and spontaneous portraits or quirky landscapes - are a part of an exhibition opening at 6.30 pm (at Warehouse B), just before the gala presentation of the photographer/director's first film "Puzzle of a Downfall Child". He has exhibited widely, with recent shows in Paris, and Istanbul.

Quote/unquote:
"I want to see more interesting movies...You can't give up. You have to keep fighting from within." - Faye Dunaway

Angelike Contis
First shot, #94, 10/11/2000